If you’re looking for a place to relax in a beautiful environment, there are plenty of things to see and do in Sedona, Arizona. The warm desert air is sure to soothe your weary bones, while the diverse geography offers plenty of outdoor activities, or spaces and places perfect to sit back and relax.
Here are a few of the things I enjoyed in Arizona.
Vortexes
The Sedona vortexes are energy centers that are said to exist at ley lines that make up the Earth’s electromagnetic field. Many believe that the entire area of Sedona is a vortex, but some areas within the city radiate the energy more powerfully.
One belief about energy vortexes is that you could draw straight lines between sites such as Stonehenge, the pyramids, and the ancient temples in Tulum, Mexico, for example.
These high energy sites sit in various areas of the Verde Valley and require hiking, sometimes great distances, or up steep inclines, to get near to them.
The four best known Sedona vortexes are Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and Boynton Canyon.
Cliff Dwellings
Hidden in the mountains around Sedona are dozens of cliffs and canyons that hold the remains of ancient pueblo cliff dwellings.
The nomadic Anasazi and Sinagua people lived in cliff dwellings and pit houses hundreds of years ago. Four popular ancient sites are within an hour’s drive of Sedona.
- Montezuma Castle is an eight hundred-year-old, 20-room cliff dwelling about 45 minutes south of Sedona.
- Tuzigoot is the largest site in the Verde Valley with one hundred and ten rooms over three stories.
For $5 per person you can see this Montezuma as well as the nearby Tuzigoot.
Jerome Ghost Town
Founded in 1876, Jerome grew from a camp to a full-fledged copper mining community. The little town up on the hill about an hour outside of Sedona, Arizona, is now a cute little artist community. Despite the arts, there are plenty of abandoned buildings near the old mine.
The small mining town at the top of the hill used to house about 300 mine families, but it became a graveyard of old equipment and buildings after the mine closure.
You can explore the city, but you’ll have to go through a gift shop and pay $7.50 each to enter the ghost town.
Tip: Caution of the free-roaming chickens
The Grand Canyon
Just two hours north of Sedona, Arizona sits the Grand Canyon, National Park. This was my first time seeing the Grand Canyon. I was surprised by all things I didn’t know about the site.
All I knew about the canyon was that it is a mile deep and nearly18 miles wide. Layered rock sections reveal millions of years of geologic history and at the bottom, someplace is the Colorado River.
The massive 277-mile gated park costs $35 to enter. (unless you have a national park pass for just $80) It’s a nature lover’s Disneyland of sorts. We paid the fee and drove the mile-plus road toward the canyon. I couldn’t help but wonder what preservation of this park has done to it.
There are several resorts, hotels, campgrounds, lodges, train stations, stores, and restaurants in the park. There are massive shuttle buses that move bodies around to the various popular sites. It’s like a canyon theme park.
Once we got off the main trail and major lookout points, we were excited to see an elk and a fox. Even though it was too commercial and overpopulated for my taste, it sure was pretty.
Hot Air Balloon Ride
There are a few different hot air balloon companies in Arizona, and on any given morning, the sky in Sedona is peppered with them. Of course, I booked a ride.
The team picked us up at 6 a.m. and drove us out to a remote area between Boynton and Long Canyon.
By 6:30 am, the big yellow, red and blue balloon was floating above the 16-person wicker basket, and we were climbing over the sides into it. For the next hour, we sailed over the red rocks and canyons, taking in the sight of the Sedona in the most peaceful way imaginable.
Read more about this experience in my post Sailing Through Sedona in a Hot Air Balloon.
Star Gazing
Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community recognized for their exceptional dedication to preserving the night sky. They’ve achieved this through strict outdoor lighting ordinance, dark sky education, and resident support. There are no streetlights, and even the small airport is unlit unless a plane is immediately landing or taking off. Because of these efforts, the stars can glow with an intensity more often found in the middle of the ocean.
It’s the perfect city to go find yourself a spot in a canyon and look up into the night sky.
American Indian Jewelry & Crafts
There were numerous stands along the road set up by local Hopi, Navajo, and other American Indians. At these, they graciously sold their authentic, handcrafted wares. Here I found handcrafted silver and beaded jewelry, beautiful stonework.
While I may be a minimalist, I did stop at several of these booths to buy gifts for friends.
Saguaro cactus in Sonoran Desert
One of my favorite things in Arizona was seeing the massive Seguro Cactus’ that lines the highway from Pheonix to Sedona.
These towering beasts stand up to 40 feet tall and take over the Sonoran Desert like an invading army. They populated every few feet of space for miles at a time. But then, once out of the Sonoran Desert, the cactus’ were gone too. The Saguaro only grow in certain parts of the American Southwest and they’re amazing. Go see them.
Read more stories about Arizona here.
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